1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a massage apparatus, and more particularly to a massage apparatus suitable for massaging the user's ankles or calves via reciprocating movement.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There is a type of massage apparatus for massaging the user's legs via laterally reciprocating movement being commercially available. Such conventional leg massage apparatus mainly includes an electric motor and a reducing mechanism to drive an eccentric shaft to rotate. The eccentric shaft is fixedly provided at its free end a wheel which is inserted into an elongated through slot of a slide block. The rotary movement of the eccentric shaft drives the slide block to swing right and left along a slide shaft. The laterally swinging slide block is fixedly connected at its top end to a massage rest for the user to rest his or her ankles or calves thereon. In such conventional massage apparatus, the eccentrically rotating wheel contacts the peripheral wall of the elongated through slot of the linearly moving slide block and produces a considerable frictional resistance and impact force against the slide block which in turn causes damage to the massage apparatus due to over wearing of the wheel and the slide block, high dB noise during the operation of mechanisms, as well as poor transmission efficiency that requires the use of motor of higher power.
It is therefore desirable to develop a massage apparatus which eliminates the above-mentioned disadvantages existing in the conventional massage apparatus.